test-drb January 2001

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

181 participants
415 discussions

by west＠jade.tseinc.com

I'm not interested in the 11/23, I have about 4 of those - but I would definitely be interested in the RL02 drive if no one owants it. Jay West

25 years, 5 months

Altair Owners ...

by kapteynr＠cboe.com

Richard: The historically interesting thing about the ALTAIR has how insanely primitive it was when it became the sensation that sparked the PC revolution. Putting a disk on an ALTAIR is kind of cool, but it misses the point of how primitive they really were. Yes, parallel logic is much more consistent with the Altair era. My keyboard is 8-bit parallel, my paper tape reader is 8-bit parallel. The only common serial devices were Teletype machines (because of their evolution from the telegraph). Teletypes were the most common "terminal" in use back then. Not for me, though, I have a surplus, converted Friden Flexowriter, (or boat anchor), that we modified to be parallel. Do you even know what paper tape is ? I think that every ALTAIR had to deal with paper tape at some point. Magnetic media were too unreliable. I have a cute little optical paper tape reader that has a row of 9 LEDs and a corresponding row of photodiodes. It sends data as eight bits in parallel. There is a row of little holes in the third position that is normally intended to tractor the paper tape through a teletype machine. The optical paper tape reader uses this hole as a clock signal for software handshaking with the ALTAIR through a parallel port. To load BASIC, you entered a tiny loader program through the front panel switches. This program just looked for the tape reader's clock bit, delayed a little, then read the rest of the byte and stored it in memory. When you loaded Bill Gate's BASIC, the first data loaded was a more robust checksum loader. This loader quickly took control and if everything summed correctly after then rest of the tape was read, BASIC was running when you were done. By the way, in the beginning, ALTAIR BASIC WAS the "Operating System". Through PEEKs and POKEs executed from your BASIC programs, you could control all of your hardware. I also have a "VDM-1" video display card. We converted an old TV work with this. After BASIC was loaded, we add a "patch" for this through the front panel switches. That was another interesting thing about the ALTAIR, you could always take control of your computer through the front panel switches. There was no "reset" button to hit when your system crashed, your just went in and looked at what happened. Usually, you went to location 0 and hit "run" to get out of a crash. A "nasty" crash was when an loop overwrote your memory. This happened fairly often too. It was always kind of interesting to look at the patterns that appeared in the memory when these crashes occurred. I have always thought that if I wanted to be able to easily "boot" my ALTAIR to show it off, I would construct a box that would let me load and save my programs to a modern PC through this parallel port. Maybe just a BASIC stamp chip. I never kept up with disk controller technology I don't really know what a WD1002 is. Are your Altairs original or "B" models ? I hate to think that as an "original" Altair owner, I am, myself, a museum piece :-) I am only 39 years old. When I listen to the war stories of 80 year olds, I might think of THEM as museum pieces. -Rob -----Original Message----- From: Richard Erlacher [SMTP:edick@idcomm.com] Sent: Wednesday, January 03, 2001 6:16 PM To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org Subject: Re: Altair Owners ... Yeah ... I've got a copy of that MITS DISK BASIC lying about somewhere, though there's no documentation on hand. The deal is that (1) with one of my scrap S-100 PCB's hacked into a WD1K channel, the Altair can then talk to a WD1002-05 HD/FD Controller, as I'm putting in the MITS HDC box, and use that to operate the mix of 5-1/4" hard and floppy disks in the second box. It requires no S-100 FDC of any sort. Since BIOS code abounds for the WD controllers, I'd say it's not only a cool set of hardware, but a slick way to get the OS running if it's not already, and I do have HD drives in the form of a "back-end" driver, for the WD1K series, that can be autoloaded on boot if CP/M is already running. However, using a parallel port board would be more consisitent with what was done with the original Altair system: the one with the small desk built on the table-high rack with a desk extending to one side. It used a parallel port sort of thingie to talk to the SMD interface in the HDC box, and that, in turn, talked to the CDC HAWK drive in the top portion of the rack pedestal onto which the desktop was fitted. I could put in some sort of parallel port thingie, and 8255, or perhaps a pair of input ports and a pair of output ports, to provide the bits necessary to do the job. The channel interface is a lot slicker and faster, though, and TTL will drive the cable a lot better than an 8255. Either one will work, but I've no "feel" for what would be preferred by the typical Altair owner. Of course I'm particularly interested in placing this stuff with someone to whom an Altair isn't an Altair if any of the hardware doesn't say MITS on it, though only the boxes in this set are original MITS. Dick ----- Original Message ----- From: "ajp166" <ajp166(a)bellatlantic.net> To: <classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org> Sent: Wednesday, January 03, 2001 4:52 PM Subject: Re: Altair Owners ... > From: Rob Kapteyn <kapteynr(a)cboe.com> > > > >Hey wait a minute ... > >A BIOS on an Altair ? > > > >Sure there were add-ons (years later) that did this, but if you really > want authenticity this is what we did -- > > > >I always had to "boot" my Altair with a simple paper tape loader program > entered from the switches on > >front panel. I did this so many times, I had the 30 octal codes > memorized. > > > Often several times until it read the cassette correctly! Saving stuff > was easy though bets were > off if you could read it later. > > First homebrew board 8223 (x2 for 64 bytes plus 2 7489s for 16bytes of > scratch ram) prom boot! > > >Once I had Altair BASIC loaded, I generally kept the machine powered up > as long as possible. > > > Or until it crashed! > > >I never knew anyone who actually had a actual floppy for their Altair. > >I seem to remember that they cost more than the computer itself, and the > computer was quite >expensive --($2,000 1974 dollars). > > > I built and debugged two of them for others. > > Allison > >

25 years, 5 months

Dilog SCSI controllers

by cmcmanis＠mcmanis.com

Ok, interesting question here, I now have both a Dilog 703 and a Dilog 706. The 703 is a TMSCP tape controller and the 706 is a MSCP disk controller. (at work I have a 736 that does both, but I don't think they are the same) The circuits are of course identical and I'm trying to figure out if Dilog used a PAL change like Viking did or just a firmware change between the two of them? If it is just firmware then perhaps I can help Ben turn his controller into a disk controller. --Chuck

25 years, 5 months

and a LSI-11/23 Rescue in Portland, Oregon

by healyzh＠aracnet.com

I just got some further info on the VAX, and the PDP-11 that's available. I'd not mentioned the PDP-11 earlier as I was interested :^) VAX-11/750 w/4MB RAM and 134MB Drive LSI-11/23 w/Cypher Tape drive, two 8" floppies, and RL02 Turns out her Dad was the author of "Planet" (not sure on the spelling). It was some kind of computer based instruction software. Zane -- | Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Administrator | | healyzh(a)aracnet.com (primary) | OpenVMS Enthusiast | | healyzh(a)holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector | +----------------------------------+----------------------------+ | Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, | | and Zane's Computer Museum. | | http://www.aracnet.com/~healyzh/ |

25 years, 5 months

VAX-11/750 Rescue in Portland, Oregon

by kees.stravers＠iae.nl

On 2001-01-04 classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org said to kees.stravers(a)iae.nl >I just found out about a VAX-11/750 that is apparently in the >Portland area that is in desparate need of Rescue. From talking to >the woman that's trying to take care of this for her parents, it >sounds like they'd like to get money or at least a tax credit for >this. It apparently includes software and documentation, and it is >supposed to be fully working. If you can't find anyone who ran rescue the entire machine, I would be very much interested in the cards that are in it. I want to revive my own 11/750, but it has only 5MB of memory so I am in need of more memory cards. The latest version of NetBSD doesn't really work well in 5MB anymore. Unfortunately I live in The Netherlands, so I can't come over to collect them :( Regards, Kees. -- Kees Stravers - Geldrop, The Netherlands - kees.stravers(a)iae.nl http://www.iae.nl/users/pb0aia/ My home page (old computers,music,photography) http://www.vaxarchive.org/ Info on old DEC VAX computers Net-Tamer V 1.08.1 - Registered

25 years, 5 months

VAX-11/750 Rescue in Portland, Oregon

by healyzh＠aracnet.com

I just found out about a VAX-11/750 that is apparently in the Portland area that is in desparate need of Rescue. From talking to the woman that's trying to take care of this for her parents, it sounds like they'd like to get money or at least a tax credit for this. It apparently includes software and documentation, and it is supposed to be fully working. Now for the bad side, it's in a garage that has to be cleared out in a week because the house has been sold. I'd love to rescue this machine, but I don't have anywhere near enough room for it :^( Is there anyone in the area that can rescue it rather than seeing it scrapped? (I'm pretty sure that will be its fate as it was a scrapper that contacted me about it.) If possible I'll try to at least rescue software and doc's. Zane -- | Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Administrator | | healyzh(a)aracnet.com (primary) | OpenVMS Enthusiast | | healyzh(a)holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector | +----------------------------------+----------------------------+ | Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, | | and Zane's Computer Museum. | | http://www.aracnet.com/~healyzh/ |

25 years, 5 months

Monitor help needed ( really WordPerfect 5.1 for DOS)

by mmcfadden＠cmh.edu

Bill Bradford <mrbill(a)mrbill.net> asked about WordPerfect 5.1 for DOS. We actually use it every day to transcribe all of our Radiology reports. The AIX based Radiology system we have only accepts transcription from WordPerfect 5.1. Two of our users run serial links to the AIX box to send in the WordPerfect files. We don't need anything but plain text and spell checking. It has worked flawlessly for the last 3 years I have been here. I probably actually have several copies of the software and manuals. Let me check if you really want a copy. Please contact me direct and we can work out mailing/shipping. Mike mmcfadden(a)cmh.edu

25 years, 5 months

Tru64 Hobbyist Upgrades

by healyzh＠aracnet.com

OK, this is decidedly off-topic, however, it's likely to be of interest to some of the people here. I was looking for some info yesterday and discovered that Compaq now has Tru64 V5.1 available via the Tru64 hobbyist program for $100, or $40 for a upgrade from V5.0 or V5.0A (I didn't even know hobbyists could get V5.0A). Zane -- | Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Administrator | | healyzh(a)aracnet.com (primary) | OpenVMS Enthusiast | | healyzh(a)holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector | +----------------------------------+----------------------------+ | Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, | | and Zane's Computer Museum. | | http://www.aracnet.com/~healyzh/ |

25 years, 5 months

univac tape format

by gsc＠zip.com.au

>We have got some UNIVAC 9-tracks tapes we are trying to read. >(The tapes were written in 1982, so it is a possibility the data is lost. >Our UNIVAC 110xs are long gone.) First of all, you might want to try asking this question on the comp.sys.unisys newsgroup. If nothing else, you may find someone with the current version of these machines (Unisys 2200 or Unisys ClearPath IX) who can do the conversion for you. >What is the UNIVAC tape format? >(I have not found any info on the net yet) It depends on what's on the tape. The 1100 series are 36 bit machines. The usual tape format has two words packed into nine tape frames. MSB of the first frame would be the MSB of the first word, and LSB of the last frame would be the LSB of the second. (I think.) Text is usually encoded in ASCII, using nine bits per character. Text files are in a variable length record format, with a file header that starts with octal 50 in the high order six bits of the first word, and a record header word on each record. The actual text may be wrapped inside various levels of archive, but if you see long stretches of readable ASCII, you've found the actual meat. (There may also be some text encoded in an older six-bit character set. That seems a bit old-fashioned for 1982, but you never know.) Now for the good news. If the tape was _intended_ to be read by a non- Univac machine, then it may well have straight ASCII (or even EBCDIC) text recorded one character per frame with fixed length records. A dump of the first few blocks on the tape, as well as an idea of what sorts of block lengths there are on the rest of it, would be a great help in trying to guess the format. >We are trying to read it on a VMS system with 9-track TSZ07 streamer. >(TSZ07 is SCSI, 1600/6250 bpi. Suppose it is ANSI too) >Is the hardware compatible enough? Should be, assuming the tape is actually in one of those densities. Making sense of the contents may be harder. >If it is, how do I read it? (Got a Unix utility called copytape, so the >streamer may eventually be moved) I don't know of a Unix utility that can cope with all the variations of 1100 series tapes. The easy way is definitely to get someone with a compatible machine to read it. (Is your site still on speaking terms with Unisys?) The other option is to find out exactly what format your tape is in, and knock something together to read it. Sean Case

25 years, 5 months

univac tape format

by roart＠nvg.ntnu.no

Hi We have got some UNIVAC 9-tracks tapes we are trying to read. (The tapes were written in 1982, so it is a possibility the data is lost. Our UNIVAC 110xs are long gone.) What is the UNIVAC tape format? (I have not found any info on the net yet) We are trying to read it on a VMS system with 9-track TSZ07 streamer. (TSZ07 is SCSI, 1600/6250 bpi. Suppose it is ANSI too) Is the hardware compatible enough? If it is, how do I read it? (Got a Unix utility called copytape, so the streamer may eventually be moved) (Another possibility is using a TU81+ streamer, ANSI, 1600/6500 bpi) Regards, Roar Thron?s

25 years, 5 months

DEC find

by kd7bcy＠teleport.com

Wow! I hit gold! Wacky Willy's... I cleaned the Vaughn St. location of every DEC bit I could find. Here's what I found: M7606 AF, MicroVAX II w/1MB RAM and floating point 2x M7608 BC/BF, 4-Mbyte RAM for microVAX II (Q22-bus) M7164, Q-bus SDI disk adaptor, Q-22 (1 of 2)(what does that mean? Guess I need another board) M7516 YM, Ethernet interface (replaces DEQNA) - what do I need to hook it up? M3106, 4-line double-buffered async EIA MUX, with modem control; replaces M7957 - What do I do with this? It has a cable attachaed, p/n BC05L-03 3x M3104 DHV11, 8-line async DMA MUX M7551 CA, 4-Mbyte 22-bit parity/CSR MOS RAM (what will this work with?) M8053 MA, M8053 with DDCMP control ROM (point-to-point or multidrop) - huh? Non-DEC DEC stuff: Sigma Info Systems DZV11, some WDC chips on it and two 40-pin connectors Emulex TU0210401 National Semiconductor NS638 - tons of chips, looks like memory Now, what do I do with all this stuff? What will work with my 11/84 and how do I set it up? My 11/84 is bare right now - just CPU and some memory. I don't even remember what exactly is in there right now, I'll have to go check later. The MicroVAX II CPU was a surprise. Is there anything I can do with that? Anyone in the Portland, OR area (or other areas of OR/WA with a bit of planning) need any of this stuff or have something that I could use with it? Oh yeah - other finds at Wacky Willy's were still shrink-wrapped copies of DOS 6.21 and Windows 3.11, and a couple of 12v SLA batteries. -- /-----------------------------------------------\ | http://jrollins.tripod.com/ kd7bcy(a)teleport.com | | http://www.geocities.com/jrollins.geo/ | | List admin for orham and ham-mac at www.qth.net | | KD7BCY pdxham at www.egroups.com | \-----------------------------------------------/

25 years, 5 months

need help identifying DEC card

by jeff.kaneko＠juno.com

If it's a q-bus board (four sets of fingers with a *metal* 'rail' running along the front) could be a 4MB 22-bit parity/CSR MOS RAM board for the 11/73 or 11/83 (if my source is correct). On Wed, 3 Jan 2001 19:35:56 -0500 "Compusync" <hsappleton(a)sprintmail.com> writes: > I just bought an item among a batch of other things. This particular > item I have no clue what it is, and it seems it may be a secret or > something...because there is no name. It is just a series of > numbers. The card measures around 10.5" x 9". Some of the numbers > that may aid in identifying it are: M7751, 5017547-01-D1-P2 and it > was made in Singapore. I am not sure I can send pictures on this > list, but if someone wants to help, I could send them a picture. > What is it and what is it used for. > > Headley ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.

25 years, 5 months

need help identifying DEC card

by hsappleton＠sprintmail.com

I just bought an item among a batch of other things. This particular item I have no clue what it is, and it seems it may be a secret or something...because there is no name. It is just a series of numbers. The card measures around 10.5" x 9". Some of the numbers that may aid in identifying it are: M7751, 5017547-01-D1-P2 and it was made in Singapore. I am not sure I can send pictures on this list, but if someone wants to help, I could send them a picture. What is it and what is it used for. Headley

25 years, 5 months

Altair Owners ...

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

From: Rob Kapteyn <kapteynr(a)cboe.com> >Hey wait a minute ... >A BIOS on an Altair ? > >Sure there were add-ons (years later) that did this, but if you really want authenticity this is what we did -- > >I always had to "boot" my Altair with a simple paper tape loader program entered from the switches on >front panel. I did this so many times, I had the 30 octal codes memorized. Often several times until it read the cassette correctly! Saving stuff was easy though bets were off if you could read it later. First homebrew board 8223 (x2 for 64 bytes plus 2 7489s for 16bytes of scratch ram) prom boot! >Once I had Altair BASIC loaded, I generally kept the machine powered up as long as possible. Or until it crashed! >I never knew anyone who actually had a actual floppy for their Altair. >I seem to remember that they cost more than the computer itself, and the computer was quite >expensive --($2,000 1974 dollars). I built and debugged two of them for others. Allison

25 years, 5 months

Altair Owners ...

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

From: Richard Erlacher <edick(a)idcomm.com> >Has anybody got an ALTAIR that actually runs CP/M? I rans MITS DISK BASIC back when. Also using NS* MDS-A both NSdos and CP/M-1.4. >I have one OS for an Altair, namely a system with the MITS serial board an a >Morrow DJ2. Not being an Altair-owner myself, I don't know how, exactly to >prepare a BIOS for the two Altair add-ons I'm building up for eventual >liquidation on eBay. The altair was a regular conflagureation of hardware often a MITS 8080, one of the SIOs or 2SIOs and mostly everyone elses disk controller. the most common at the time was the NS* MDS-A, ICOM FDOS and some of the various 1771 based boards. Most people replaced the backplane at that point as the MITs bus assembly (save for the later -B version) wer really bad for noise. Allison

25 years, 5 months

scart cable in US?

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Jan 3, 3:43, Mike Ford wrote: > >One thing I built years ago was a cable with a SCART plug on one end and > >a box on the other with 6 BNC sockets (composite in, composite out, R, G, > > I wonder where I could find a SCART connector in the US? It sounds like the > connection I have on a Sony monitor, 130x (x is 4 or 6 or something), that > I have never been able to test. > > BTW I have found a couple sources for cables at $25, but I need the much > cheaper kind. ;) Ouch! Over here, cheap SCART leads cost as little as a couple of pounds! If you want connection tables and pictures, try some of these: http://www.kevlar.karoo.net/scart.html http://www.drdish.com/knowledge/0005/eng/000504.shtml http://www.netcentral.co.uk/satcure/scarts.htm and probably hundreds of others that Google could find for you :-) -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager Dept. of Computer Science University of York

25 years, 5 months

Looking at Thomson MO5 PAL video output and MO5 connector pinouts

by claudew＠sprint.ca

Hi I have one of these Thomson MO5' now in my collection. I know it's a PAL video output. Very little info on the net about this one. Lotta emulators but not about the real machine hardware. Would like to know where does the PAL video come out of... Anybody have a simple suggestion for looking at PAL video signals? Also would like the pinout for the odd connector coming out of the unit... Claude -- The Canuck Computer Collector http://computer_collector.tripod.com

25 years, 5 months

decus lives!

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Jan 3, 18:01, Adrian Graham wrote: > At least in the UK anyway. The recent flurry of DECUS complaints on here > made me wonder what had happened to my own membership - sure enough it > expired last month so they're wanting another 25 english pounds off me. > Thing is, is it still worth it to be a member? I haven't been to the > seminars etc for *years* and don't have a requirement for hobbyist kits or > anything like that...... I'm not sure a UK membership entitles you to very much in the way of hobbyist kits -- our UK branch seems very backward in all respects except collecting money. My membership expired years ago and when I was invited to pay not only the ?25 membership but a similar "joining fee" to rejoin, I declined -- I was a student at the time and it wasn't affordable. Especially since they wanted such high prices for anything from the software library. Anyone know just what hobbyist licences/kits are available to UK members? -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager Dept. of Computer Science University of York

25 years, 5 months

Altair Owners ...

by kapteynr＠cboe.com

Hey wait a minute ... A BIOS on an Altair ? Sure there were add-ons (years later) that did this, but if you really want authenticity this is what we did -- I always had to "boot" my Altair with a simple paper tape loader program entered from the switches on front panel. I did this so many times, I had the 30 octal codes memorized. Once I had Altair BASIC loaded, I generally kept the machine powered up as long as possible. I could write BASIC programs and "save" them in one of two ways -- (1) by punching a paper tape on a Teletype machine, or (2) a notoriously unreliable cassette tape interface. Later we got a surplus 9-track magnetic tape drive, but that was also a big pain. I never knew anyone who actually had a actual floppy for their Altair. I seem to remember that they cost more than the computer itself, and the computer was quite expensive -- ($2,000 1974 dollars). But then, my brother and I were 12 and 13 years old and we only new a couple of other Altair owners. -Rob -----Original Message----- From: Richard Erlacher [SMTP:edick@idcomm.com] Sent: Wednesday, January 03, 2001 10:39 AM To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org Subject: Altair Owners ... Has anybody got an ALTAIR that actually runs CP/M? I have one OS for an Altair, namely a system with the MITS serial board an a Morrow DJ2. Not being an Altair-owner myself, I don't know how, exactly to prepare a BIOS for the two Altair add-ons I'm building up for eventual liquidation on eBay. I've got two genuine MITS boxes, one intended (but never used as such) FDD box, with a front face plate I made in the shop, which houses a PSU, and offers four HH 5-1/4" drive bays, with a dual 50-conductor cable hookup in the back, the latter hookup being of my own design an the opening for it having been milled by me. The box is original, but there's no identification of any sort, since this was from a batch of raw boxes I bought when MITS went tits-up. The other, essentially identical box is a MITS HDC box, with the original cardcage and PSU (repaired) but no back cover, which once covered the card cage opening from the rear, and, consistent with the original MITS accommodated a parallel interface to the Altair computer. It is completely original and has no modifications to the box, which still bears the original dress panel and key-switch, but the box houses a WD-1002-05 bridge controller, capable of handling 4 floppies (albeit 5-1/4" and 3-1/2" only, due to the supported clock rate). This box is intended to be used in tandem with the COMPLETELY COUNTERFEIT drive enclosure mentioned above, though it's being done in a period-authentic way. What I want to know is what sort of support for floppy diskettes will be require, if any, based on the fact there will only be 5-1/4" drives accomodated in the system. Has anybody got a "better" sort of BIOS setup for booting from the WDFDC? I'm looking to clone something, so the eventual owner will be able to build and use a boot diskette from something else, prefereably something that already exists, yet the only running Altair boxes I've seen/heard-of myself use the hard-sectored mini-floppies of the Northstar, and that's not an option. Any suggestions? Dick

25 years, 5 months

Need assistance with project ($$)

by vcf＠siconic.com

This is directed to any TRS-80 experts: I need help with a consulting project I'm working on. I need to get a copy of the TRS-80 game Combat from a PC emulator file onto either cassette or diskette (better yet, I need to get an original copy of this game). Additionally, I need assistance in figuring out how to configure the hardware for this game. Combat is a multi-computer, multi-player game. It requires some sort of physical serial connection (either via modem or serial cable) between two TRS-80 computers. It allows two people to play against each other in realtime. If you think you can help me with this, or preferably, if you have experience with this game, please do contact me ASAP. Your assistance will be monetarily compensated (this is your chance to make some money with this hobby other than selling stuff on eBay! :) Please contact me at <sellam(a)vintage.org>. If you know anyone who might be able to assist, please forward this message to them. Thanks! Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org

25 years, 5 months

DecStations

by LFessen106＠aol.com

Does anyone on the list know what year the Personal DECstation 5000/33 (Maxine) was released? How many MIPS it runs at? And how much it originally costed? Thanks, -Linc.

25 years, 5 months

cleaning QIC?

by red＠bears.org

I need to repair a partially torn tape, and remove some sticky gunk from the media itself. Hopefully I'll be able to do this in a way that will allow me to read the tape one last time to get an image of the data. This particular tape got gooed up in a tape drive which had a decayed capstan. It didn't get gooed up too badly, but it looks like it was enough to cause a headache. I was able to clean the goo off the cassette mechanics by using a nr. 7 X-Acto blade dipped in alcohol. All went well with that. When I tried to read the tape to make an image, it progressed to a certain point on the tape and gave up. Examining the tape revealed the following defects: * traces of capstan goo * a small, ca. 1/16" tear in the tape I'm assuming I can use some splicing tape on the tear, but what can I use to clean the goo off the tape? Alcohol worked well on the cassette, but I've heard that it can cause the oxide to separate from the substrate if used on the tape itself. Any suggestions or speculations on my chances of succeeding would be appreciated. I'm in a bit of a bind. ok r.

25 years, 5 months

It had to happen sometime

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

On December 29, Marvin wrote: > I was looking at the Heath Listserver messages and here is the URL of a > disassembled Heathkit "kit" selling on Ebay. Current price (someone has too > much money on their hands) is $103.50. The URL is: > > http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?MfcISAPICommand=ViewItem&item=5328… > > The next thing will most likely be similar computer "kits". There was a > discussion on the Heath listserver about this unit and Chuck Pension spoke > about this type of activity being another cottage industry. Anyone > interested in a disassembled Heathkit H-89, or H-11, or ... :). I thought you had to be smoking crack or something, Marvin; nobody would actuall *do* something like this...but I just looked at the auction. It's true. Be afraid. Be very afraid. Why do we have to stop at things that were originally kits? I can see it now: "DEC PDP-11/34a KIT! L@@K! RARE!!" Better start buying stock in ChemWik! -Dave McGuire

25 years, 5 months

datasheet for intel compatiable 8042 ic.

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

From: jpero(a)sympatico.ca <jpero(a)sympatico.ca> This is microcontroller chip commonly found on clones till post pentium packaged in 40 pin DIP. After that, non-legacy and embedded 8042's in chipsets in newer boards and later. Right now I need the pin info where clock goes into that 8042 so I could bypass current clock source. Motherboard's clock generator is sick. Most of it is partially working, which is very common on one brand chipmaker. !! Do it by injecting 8042 directly with crystal xtal or use 4 pin oscillator ic. Need Mhz as well, 12Mhz? Pin 2 is X1 (clockin) and Pin 3 is clock out. Same pinout as 8041/8741/8742 Allison

25 years, 5 months

Monitor help needed

by BGarvey355＠aol.com

I'm new to this list but not to classic computers, well...to classic IBM's I am, ask me about Atari computers though, then we can talk ;-), which is the reason for this post. I picked up a couple of monitors from a friend of mine and I'd like to find out what they are for and can I utilize them on other classic computers in my collection The first monitor is an IBM 5151, it has a 9pin connector on it's built in cable The second monitor is actually a terminal I think, it's a 3179-2, and it has some strange connectors on the back of it, including a 25 pin for the monitor itself coming from the pedestal base. Is there any use for these monitors other than there intended system? thanks in advance, Brent

25 years, 5 months

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test-drb January 2001